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Las Vegas officers honored for 'heroic' Costco shooting
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John Locher/Las Vegas Review-Journal
Las Vegas police officers William Mosher, left, and Joshua Stark, both shown here testifying in September at the coroner's inquest of the shooting of Erik Scott, have received honorable mention in the National Association of Police Officers' "Top Cops" award. » Buy this photo
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Las Vegas police officer Thomas Mendiola, one of three officers involved in the fatal shooting of Erik Scott on July 10, was not honored with an award as the other two were. John Locher/Las Vegas Review-Journal » Buy this photo
Updated: Apr. 16, 2011 | 8:26 a.m.
Two Las Vegas police officers who shot and killed Erik Scott in the controversial Costco shooting last year have received honors in a national officer of the year award.
Officers William Mosher and Joshua Stark received honorable mention in the National Association of Police Organizations' Top Cops awards.
A third officer involved in the shooting, Thomas Mendiola, was not honored. In January, Mendiola was charged with a felony for unlawfully giving a handgun to a two-time felon in an unrelated case. He has a preliminary hearing in May.
Chris Collins, executive director of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, is a member of the NAPO board of directors. He said he nominated the two officers and officer Mike Madland, who was shot twice while chasing a robbery suspect in March 2010, for the Top Cop award. Madland nearly lost his leg from the shooting. He did not win a NAPO award.
Collins called the two incidents the "top two heroic events our officers participated in last year."
"I don't see it as a controversial shooting," he said about the Costco shooting. "What potentially could have been a bad situation they brought to an end with no citizens being hurt.
"It was a heroic deed and enough of a heroic deed for the judges to give them an honorable mention."
Scott's father, Bill Scott, called the honor "incredible."
"The arrogance of Chris Collins and the PPA in even nominating these two staggers the imagination," he said.
He called the officers' actions a "mistake" and added, "Now they're being honored for their mistakes?"
A coroner's jury into the Costco shooting heard testimony from dozens of witnesses in September before deciding that the three officers acted justifiably on July 10 when they shot Scott, 38, who was armed with two handguns and who had a concealed weapons permit.
At the inquest, medical examiners showed that Scott, who suffered from severe back pain, was taking a potentially lethal amount of prescription painkillers. Costco employees had called police after observing Scott acting oddly and seeing that he was armed.
Witnesses to the shooting said the officers approached Scott as he was leaving the store and that he reached for one of his pistols, prompting them to fire.
Scott family attorney Ross Goodman called the coroner's inquest a "one-sided process" and said the civil rights lawsuit will "balance out the limited and selected information the prosecutors wanted the public to hear."
Public outcry over the shooting prompted a sweeping overhaul in the inquest process, which continues to be controversial and was the subject of state legislation that died in committee Friday.
In the federal lawsuit filed last year, Scott's parents and brother claim Mosher, Stark and Mendiola used excessive force when they shot Scott outside the Summerlin Costco store.
A department spokesman said Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie was out of town Friday and could not be reached for comment on the award.
The incident was not the only one the NAPO honored that sparked public outrage last year.
Pleasantville, N.Y., officer Aaron Hess, who shot and killed a 20-year-old college football player in a controversial incident in October, was one of several officers given the organization's highest award. That shooting is under Justice Department review for potential civil rights violations.
According to the group's website, the Top Cops awards "pay tribute to outstanding law enforcement officers across the country for actions above and beyond the call of duty'' who are nominated by fellow officers "for outstanding service during the preceding calendar year." The organization represents 2,000 police unions nationwide.
The Metropolitan Police Department has received the organization's highest award at least twice.
In 2000, officer Dennis Devitte was honored as a Top Cop after his heroics during a December 1999 barroom shootout. He was one of seven off-duty officers in a bar when three masked gunmen went inside and began spraying the patrons with gunfire. Devitte was struck eight times as he returned fire and killed one of the gunmen.
In 1994, officer Stephen Collins was honored as a Top Cop for his efforts to combat crime and build relations between residents and police in a troubled east valley apartment complex. The efforts included building relationships with the neighborhood's residents and establishing a police office in the complex.
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@dspenser Seriously, I have this vision of Chris Collins in his house with his Molester Mustache typing away with one hand and combing his Mullet with the other as Poison plays on his cassette player. It is very disturbing for me.
@ dd47088, agreed the silence is deafening...kinda like a one side process or pleading the 5th. doesn't wanna answer questions or stay with one subject but pulls rabbits from hats as if they have any relevance whatsoever. that's why his username has puffy conceded wording but his persona of fairy tales do not give heed to it. just as lame as the look he gives when not in agreement with the process...not a concerned look but crooked smirky immature one. makes one wonder how many unjust acts have been covered by this kingpin. the reality could be staggering.
Hell...even the paper that ran this story called it......"heroic" as in..
Yea..we dont believe it either.
BTW, anyone thats seen the inquest tape of Shai..Shay..wtf his name is, knows that he lied, period, and the civil case will be a slam dunk....period.
Sad thing is, there are alot of guys in blue....that dont believe this either...and wonder why at least three LVMPD cops are not up on charges....
@dspence it appears RKP is just like the da and lvm at any inquest. they don't do well in a fair debate.
Eyeswideopen explains a case where an off duty leo was at a bar drinking what milk? Explains how he shot a robber... a person who is drinking carrying a gun? Have at it RKP... he was nominated for the same honor. Now what?
Also RKP...dui is not a given for killing people...yes, these people should be confronted and appropriate measures taken but being under the influence is NOT a given for further wrong doing. In your mind all dui carriers should be killed by police. Really?
RKP AKA Chris Collins of the PPA
Your claims hold no ground and your false propaganda is losing merit in a most severe way.
This locksmith has record of the goings on as well...yes, I know him.
@Tanker you are right on the money. Kevin received that call within two hours of Erik being shot. I am certain that Neville saw the tape immediately and started to put together his clean up. They knew that they would have to go put together the cover up immediately. Erik was meticulous about guns. He was a perfectionist in every way. There is know way in HELL that he would be carrying one of the only guns that were not registered on his CCW license. This Reality Guy is a joke.
@dd47088. The girlfriend was on the lease, and the police knew where she was. She was fully capable of securing the property. Can we say "ILLEGAL SEARCH"?
@reality. Think how much better it would feel if you posted the info on the blog. That way everybody on the blog would know that there is reality, and he doesn't create hot air with no substance. Not my job to prove your facts. That's your job, so JUST DO IT.